Singing Sams Song
by samcedesninja
Summary: My first story bare with me. : Rated M for future chapters. The band had a rule, they would each find a girl in the audience and sing it to her, but only a few lines then move on but Sam sees on girl he cant keep his eyes off of.
1. Chapter 1

They had a plan, like most bands did in smaller, more intimate places. There were songs that were meant to be song to girls, and that's how they performed them. When that song would come up, they would each find a girl in the audience and sing it to her, but only a few lines could be directed to a single girl before both would move on to another. Neither ever stayed with the same girl during the entire duration of a song, and once their eyes left one girl, they would never find her again. That was the rule. Sam never broke it. Puck was a little less observant of it.

The reason for it was simple, the "love" songs were slower and a bit less interesting for the audience. Eye contact, however, got the girls going and that giddy excitement spread to everyone around them. The never-continuously-look-at-a-girl rule helped to save them from the over zealous female admirers, though that couldn't be completely avoided. The male performers who were interested in more than just getting the crowd going would shift back to the same girl, one who looked willing, a few times. It made her feel as special as she needed. Puck liked to make a girl feel special from time to time.

They started on their third song, the first with any edge of romance in it as a waitress weaved her way through bumps of people with a loaded drink tray in hand. Glancing up, shortly – the room too crowded to take her eyes off of where she was going- she saw that Puck found his first girl within the first couple lines of the song, singing to her over the piano. She had watched enough performers to recognize the trick and how easily girls fell for it. Sam, however, seemed to be taking longer, scanning over the crowd of tables and people. This was always the case with them. Puck had no problem with the flirtatious looks, but it often made Sam uncomfortable. There were plenty of girls looking at him, staring and giddy, hoping she would be the one he would choose.

The song had just reached the chorus when the waitress reached the table near the center. As expected, it was filled with the same group of college guys that it always was on Friday nights. She gave them her usual smile as she began setting their drinks down, mostly beer with a couple mixed drinks. "Here you go, boys." she called over the music, already hating that there wasn't enough room for her to walk around the circular table, meaning she had to lean across to give the guys on the other end their drinks. "Having a good time tonight?" She asked, casually, setting down the last drink to the guy furthest away.

There was a hand on her leg, fingers slightly wrapped around her thigh. "You know we always have a good time." The one closest to her, Shane she thought his name was, looked up at her with a buzzed grin. "You should hang out with us, then you could join in the fun." His fingers tightened, squeezing her leg to emphasize his meaning, before sliding upward.

"Sorry, boys, but if I hang out with you, who will get those drinks you all love so much?" Though her voice was joking, her heart had started racing, and she was superbly uncomfortable. It was getting worse. "Wave me down if you need anything. You know the drill." She gave them another smile, this one a bit weaker than before, and, pulling herself from his grip, began to make her way through the crowd.

He watched as it happened, still playing and singing, but noticing the drop in her face the second the guy's hand touched her leg. As she moved away, his eyes followed, tracing her path through the throng of people. She came to a table cluttered with empty plates and glasses, and stopped to pile them onto her tray. With a deep breath, she paused, closing her eyes and listening to the music. When they opened again, they traveled to the stage.

She couldn't be sure that he was looking at her, but she knew that he was looking in her direction, a slightly crooked smile on his face as he sang. The way his mouth moved while he sang was mesmerizing. His ease was slightly calming, and she couldn't help but smile because of it. It was more than the friendly smile she gave to customers as she took and delivered their orders, and it was not fake in any way. There was real, relaxed joy behind it, coming from the gentle tune of the piano and the harmony from the boys' voices, as well as Sam's crooked smile.

For a second, his voice caught a bit, raising the smallest fraction in pitch as his lips raised into a slightly wider grin. Just like that, he caught himself, and the pitch fell back into place as he forced his mouth to settle. Regardless, he heart started beating faster. Puck moved on to the next girl, but even as this one's eyes fell away, Sam stayed with his first pick.

With as busy as the bar was that night, she couldn't waste more than a second standing there to watch. She tried to clear the thought from my mind that he was looking at her, though she couldn't help but noticing that his gaze did not falter.

There was no time, though, to admire someone who was more than likely looking at some other girl in the vicinity. She turned and moved to the next table, back to her friendly smile and polite, though slightly forced, conversation. Sam found that, even as the song ended and another began, he was still watching the same girl move about the room, seeing her deliver drinks and chat with different people, always smiling with constantly shining eyes.

Every so often, she would look back to the stage, a flickering glance,admiring the music and thinking about one of the singers looking at her, though feeling she knew he hadn't been. Yet, the more she looked up, the more she noticed that his eyes always seemed to be in her direction.

Sam couldn't take his eyes off of her. It was something he hadn't experienced before, but he even found himself almost flubbing lyrics whenever she would glance up toward the stage with that smile on her face. Still, she continued to reason that he couldn't be looking at her; she just happened to be in the right area when he shifted his glance.

"Alright everyone, I hope you're all having a good time! We're going to take a short break and then we'll be right back. Don't run off!" Both stood up from the piano as Mercedes made her way to the bar counter, carrying a tray of empty glasses, not knowing that a pair of eyes were following her with innocent interest.

"Hey, Mercedes," the bar manager called to her over the recorded filler music that began to play. "What to you think of the music?"

"Great choice, Will. I think the crowd is really loving it! Where'd you find them?"

"YouTube." He answered with a satisfied grin. "All of their videos have over a million views, I figured that made them a good choice." Mercedes chuckled as she started emptying her tray into the bus bin, doing what she could to avoid getting any of the alcohol on her hands. "Those girls are going crazy for them too, aren't they, so they much be a great choice?" He chuckled himself, pointing out a table of giggly girls who continually looked up at the vacated stage.

She rolled her eyes at the thought of such shameless and 'girly' behavior. "Some girls have no self-respect. All they know about those guys is that they sing and play well, are mildly attractive and somewhat famous. The last part is more than enough for some of those girls to throw themselves into bed with someone." Although she was far from the star-struck type, she was still human and still a twenty year old girl who enjoyed looking at and thinking about certain kinds of guys. Catching Sam's eye the few times that she had, mixed with his great voice and intoxicating smile, was enough to get her thoughts going, but she would never act upon them the way she knew some of those girls had done and would do countless times.

"You can't tell me that those guys aren't insanely hot!" Another waitress came up with her own tray of glasses, entering the conversation.

"Regardless, Quinn, 'insanely hot' or 'famous' shouldn't be the only criterion for sleeping with someone."

"Oh, come on. Why not?"

"Because, Mercedes has too much passion inside of her to have meaningless sex like some people," Will shot, giving a playful grin. "Do me a favor, hon," he turned to Mercedes, "Since you're not quite as ready as Miss Eager over here to get in those boys' pants, go see if they want anything to drink." She nodded, always more than willing to do the things that were asked of her. It was only too true, and lately painfully true. When you're broke, you have to work hard or you'll stay broke.

"Oh, Quinn! Are you still able to give me a ride home tonight?"

"Of course. Couldn't expect our innocent Mercedes to find a guy to take her home, now could we?" Her words held an edge of good humor, showing that she did not mean to be offensive. Mercedes responded only by shaking my head at this shameless waitress before going around the bar to the back portion of the stage, hidden behind flats to stay out of the audience's sight.

Both Sam and Puck sat on wooden chairs, chatting and sipping on water. Puckk wiped beads of sweat from his forehead with a gray bar rag, obviously heated from the lights above the stage. Midsentence, Sam glanced over his friend's shoulder and saw Mercedes standing there. His words stuttered to a halt as he forgot what he had even been saying. The girl was smiling.

"Can I get you boys anything to drink?"

Puck drained the rest of his water and handed her the empty glass, "some more water would be great." His smile was polite and undemanding. "Thanks, hon."

Picking up the glass with a smile, she turned to the second of the duo. "Anything for you?" Even when he didn't respond right away, her smile did not falter. There was the tiniest pause during which he only stared. "Is that a no?" She asked with a humored laugh.

"Oh, uh... no, yeah... water is great. Thank you." Sam gave a weary, nervous smile of his own. She decided to not give much weight to his behavior, having no idea how he normally acted and being very used to random antics from guys in the bar. Instead, she nodded and walked back toward the counter.

Just as she started pouring the waters from the tap, a rippling tingle worked its way up her spine. Someone was looking at her; it was the only thing that could explain the feeling. Not only looking, looking intently. Turning around, she glanced at the table in the center of the room, assuming it was they were the ones looking at her, as a weekend hardly passed without their comments. She was wrong. They were all absorbed in their drinks and talking and looking at other girls. Instead, Mercedes looked the other way.

Sam stood with his back was to her, Puck in front of him, laughing. "Who would have ever imagined _you_ would break the rules, man. One girl, not only for a whole song, but every single second since you spotted her."

"I don't know what you're talking about... Stop looking at her!"

This made Puck laugh even more. "Looking at who? I thought you didn't know what I was talking about." Mercedes watched Puck laugh, thinking that it was probably his occasional gaze over his friend's shoulder that gave her the feeling. Just as she was about to go back to her work, Sam turned. His eyes came straight to her. Before she could look again to the drinks, already starting to feel embarrassed for staring, his eyes widened infintissmially and he spun back toward Puck, who doubled over in laughter.

"She's cute, man. Really. Amazing smile. And you know what they say, once you go black..."

"Shut up. I'm not looking to get laid. Sleeping with random girls is your thing, not mine."

Puck shoot his head, the good natured smile never leaving his face. "Don't knock it 'til you try it. And while you're at it, explain to this to me, if you are not interested in... getting to know... that cute black waitress a little bit better, then why are you spending so much time staring at her that you almost flub up the words to songs you could sing in your sleep?"

Filling their glasses the rest of the way with ice water, Mercedes picked them up and began her way back toward the gossiping boys.

"I'm just tired, alright." Sam responded to a question she hadn't heard. "Stop making a big deal out of everything. You'll give yourself an ulcer." Playfully, Sam socked his friend in the arm and pushed him back toward the stage. "Don't we have a show to finish or something?"

Puckk hit him in the arm in return, but moved back up to the stage just the same. "I'll remember you said you weren't interested..."

"Here are your drinks." Mercedes appeared behind Sam as he watched his friend walk away, holding two new glasses of water, another smile strung across her lips.

"Oh, thanks." Grabbing the glasses from her, his fingers brushed her skin very lightly. Having felt countless other guys do the same thing, she tried not think much of it, but couldn't help the bit of a shiver than slid down her spine. It was a very different kind of shiver. "I uh..."

"Sam, we have songs to play and sing and whatnot." Puckk stuck his head out from behind the curtain of the small stage. "I think that's why we're here, anyway. Right? That's right, isn't it? Long story short, get up here." There was clear humor in his eyes when he spoke, and he gave a wink to Mercedes before returning to the stage.

She needed to get back to work herself and shake the strange thoughts from her head. "I hope you have a good rest of your show. It's great so far." Without anything else, she turned and walked away.

"How about some more drinks, girly?" There was a familiar slur in the boys' words as she approached the middle table. "And maybe after this round I can take you back to my place and find out if its true about going black." Once again, his hand rose to her upper thigh as she pulled empty glasses from the table. Her spine stiffened, but she chose not to push him off, continuing instead with her friendly smile.

Still, the glow was completely lacking from her eyes. "We wouldn't want to make the other boys too jealous, now would we?" She whispered in his direction before turning back to the others. "Everyone sticking with the same drinks?"

The hand moved to her lower back, completely skipping over the area in between. "I'll show you a good time."

"I sure hope you mean you'll treat her like the respectable lady she most certainly is." Will's nephew appeared behind her, his hand falling on her shoulder. "Sorry to tell you boys, but I need to steal Mercedes here for some help at the bar. Hope you don't mind." Without another word, he pulled her away, almost causing the filled tray to clutter to the floor.

Once they put a sufficient distance between themselves and the table, Mercedes wiggled herself from his grip. "Thanks but no thanks. I don't want your help." Annoyed, she walked away from him quickly and spent the rest of her shift cleaning up behind the bar.

"Hey there."

She turned and, seeing who was talking to her, gave a smile. "Hi." There was almost a question mark with her greeting, as she was confused by being approached by him.

"So, d-did you enjoy the show?" He mentally kicked himself for the stutter and wished he didn't feel so nervous. That smile, though, was clouding his mind.

"Absolutely. You all looked like you were having a lot of fun up there." Lowering her eyes from his, she went back to wiping down the nearest table. "It's always more enjoyable for the audience if the performers look like they're having a good time."

Sam nodded. Singing and playing, especially with Puckk, was the best part of his days, hearing the appreciation of everyone else came in a close second, but it was second. For a moment, he watched her clean, the ease of her motions showing that she had done this hundreds of times. "Oh, I'm Sam, by the way." Taking a step forward, he held out his hand.

She glanced down at it, her own hands occupied with the spray bottle and dish rag. Only a second later, she set down the rag and rubbed her hand against the apron, attempting to get the excess bleach water off. "Mercedes." His hand was warm against the cool of hers, and very firm, the grip lingering for a fraction of a moment longer than necessary.

Mercedes. It was a different name, one he had rarely heard before, but he enjoyed the way it sounded sliding off her tongue. His heart sped up a notch, increasing his nervousness. "Can I, maybe, buy you..."

"Sam!" The far too familiar sound of squealing girls approached behind him. "Oh my God, he is so hot! Hey, Sam."

Reluctantly, he turned his attention away from Mercedes. "Hi." There were five of them, two of them beyond blonde and all with obnoxiously straight hair and short skirts. _This_ was his least favorite part of what he did.

Mercedes looked at the girls, noting how pretty they all were with perfect hair, make up and clothes. They were spunky and energetic. Her hair was a pleasant new dark brown weave, but it did whatever it wanted to. She was a little bigger, causing her stretch marks to show through her skin. Though her eyes were a pretty and deep brown, too often they were hidden behind the lenses of her glasses. Still unsure of why Sam had come up to her in the first place, she was easily able to understand that these girls had taken his attention away effortlessly.

Just as effortlessly, she acknowledged that she had been rubbing the same table the entire time he was there, and decided it was time to clock out and leave. A second too late, she turned to see Quinn exit through the front door, the arms of an unknown guy wrapped tightly around her.

While the crowd of giggling girls asked for Sam to sign various objects and attempted to convince him to hang out with them, she made her way to the bar counter and into the back room, hanging up her apron and tossing the cleaning rag toward the washer. "Hey, Will," she called into the manager's office, "do you think I could get a ride home? Quinn said she'd give me one, but I guess she forgot. Looks like she took off already."

He looked up from a stack of receipts he had been riffling through. "Sorry, kiddo. My wife's been a real pain lately. You're place is on the opposite side of town, and she's been checking my odometer." The annoyed expression on his face softened a bit. "I'm really sorry. Anyone who knows you knows that you would never be the type to give a wife anything to worry about, but that won't stop her from putting me on the couch."

"It's alright. I can spare some tips tonight for a cab. Goodnight, Will. Good luck with the wife."

"Thanks, hon. 'Night."

It was a compliment, the fact that she would never give a wife anything to worry about. It didn't mean that she wasn't attractive or that no guy would ever consider cheating to be with her; it meant that she was too good to allow something like that to happen. She was too sweet, too innocent, too considerate of other people. Too virginal.

"I can give you a ride." Will's nephew stood just beyond the office door, giving her a look that quickly made her uncomfortable.

Pushing the thoughts and memories which rushed to her as far away as she could, she looked him square in the eye. "I'd rather crawl home."

Pushing open the back door, she slipped out into the cool night air. The truth, she thought, was that she could not spare any money that she had made. She never had money to spare. The truth was that no guy would ever consider cheating to be with her, not that she would ever want to be 'the other woman', but it was still nice to be wanted. The truth was that she didn't feel good or innocent anymore. She didn't feel virginal.

Leaning against the building, she lowered herself to the ground, pulling her sweatshirt tighter around her chest and a wad of singles from her pocket. Flipping through them, she counted once and then again. While it was more than she made in a normal night, she still didn't think she could afford to give away the cost of a cab ride. Even so, it was after two in the morning and walking the mile and a half back to her apartment seemed like a bad idea.

The thought of no longer feeling innocent flashed across her mind and was all she needed to convince her to pull the cheap cell phone from her pocket. "Hey!" Before she could hit a single button, the back door opened and Sam walked out. He was smiling, as if thoroughly relieved though a bit embarrassed.

"Hi." Again, there was almost a question behind her greeting.

"I'm sorry about that" He gestured back inside. "Wild packs of girls tend to get a little more crazy and life-threatening if you ignore them." He ran his fingers through the hair at the back of his head, trying not to feel quite as embarrassed by what had happened as he actually was. "It was incredibly rude of me; I'm very sorry."

"Oh, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Her feelings had been hurt, but the fact that he was in front of her again by his own choosing made up for that a bit.

Sam was worried about it, and even felt a small amount of panic when the girls had left and he turned to find that Mercedes had done the same. "What are you doing sitting out here? It's a bit chilly."

There were goosebumps up and down her arms and the wind easily swept through the cotton of her shirt. "It's not so bad." She lied. "And I was just about to call a cab. One of the other girls was supposed to give me a ride home, but she left already, and the manager isn't able to so..." She held up her cell phone as if that completed the sentence.

"You couldn't get one of your friends who was here earlier to give you a ride?" Moving closer to her, he lowered himself down as well, sitting in just a way that he blocked the wind from reaching her. She was very thankful, but made herself look away from him to tame the butterflies that were starting to form in her stomach.

Even so, her face drew into a confused expression. "Friends? Which friends?"

"Those guys at that one table near the center."

Mentally, she traced the layout of the bar. "Oh," she chuckled softly under her breath, "those guys. They're not friends. They come in quite a bit, but I don't really know them at all."

"They seemed friendly enough with you." Too late, he realized the words came out with a bitter edge. There was more than jealousy behind his words, which didn't make sense since he had seen this girl for the first time only a few hours earlier, but also a degree of protectiveness. The look of discomfort she had had stayed with him.

Mercedes, however, was too embarrassed to noticed any of the edge that crept into his voice. "Yeah, they uh... I honestly hate myself for saying this... well, there are certain guys who will tip better if you let them get flirty."

"You looked really uncomfortable, if I can be honest."

Her eyes turned to him then. "Some girls may be perfectly content with having random guys grope at them and reduce them to little more than a piece of meat, but I'm not one of them. I still have bills to pay, though, and... I guess there are some things I'm willing to compromise to stay in school and in my apartment." It was never easy for her to talk to people or open up, she wasn't one for close friends, but explaining this to him took less effort than she would have thought.

"You never worry about guys getting the wrong idea or thinking they can try for more?" Again, that thought of innocence came to her, and she looked away from him, picking a pebble from the ground and rolling it between her fingers. "Sorry," he quickly amended. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business, and I didn't mean to insult you. You just... like you said... you don't seem like the type of girl who is willing to be a piece of meat, which is a good thing, a very very good thing. Slutty girls can act slutty, whatever, but girls who aren't shouldn't be reduced to thinking they need to be." He couldn't believe he was still talking. "I'm just rambling now. Ignore me. I'm so sorry."

To his relief, she smiled. "Don't worry, you haven't offended me or anything." The words were genuine. "You're right. I mean, of course I worry about that stuff. I think it's genetically programed in every female to worry about that stuff...even the slutty ones... Hence why I was going to call a cab and not walk home. There are certain tricks to being careful." With her final words, she looked up from the pebble she held and met his eye. A small trace of sadness worked its way into her voice, though it was almost masked by the nonchalant shrug that punctuated the end of her sentence.

There was something about her. Something intriguing yet confusing. "Can I offer you a ride home?" Without warning, he felt the strong desire to help this girl. "I know I'm just some random guy, and you don't know me at all, but..."

"I don't want to inconvenience you at all."

Before her sentence was even fully from her lips, he was shaking his head. "No inconvenience. And I promise to keep my hands left of the center counsel." Regardless of how nice and trustworthy he seemed, she should have said no. She should have thanked him, but refused and called a cab. "I'll even let you hold on to my drivers license, that way if I do anything you don't like, you'll know exactly where I live, so you could exact your revenge at your convenience."

"That won't matter much if you drop me in a ditch and leave me for dead."

A good natured smile came to his lips. "However did you discover my plan?" The words were more than melodramatic. "But seriously, if it makes you uncomfortable, I understand. I would appreciate it, though, if you let me wait with you until your cab comes."

Her heart gave a flutter. "Actually..." The sparse money in her pocket. The lack of innocence. His amazing voice. That smile. "...a ride home would be great.


	2. Chapter 2

She slid her finger over the vent and tried to turn it so that the warm air blew more towards her. Pushing, she noticed it was stuck and used a bit more force. It was more than surprising when the small dial that directed the vent broke off in her hand. "Oh..."

Sam, hearing her quiet exclamation, looked over and saw the black plastic in her hand. There was shock and guilt on her face. "Easy there, Banner."

"I'm not mad." Her tone gave the impression of correction.

He had actually expected her to think that he was mad. "Huh?"

"Or frightened." Without taking his eyes off the road, he gave her a confused expression. "Bruce Banner only turns into the Hulk when he's extremely angry or anxious." She used a light hearted matter-of-fact tone, completely lacking the know-it-all quality that often accompanied it.

Reaching a stop sign, he was able to fully turn and look at her. The confusion was replaced with amusement across his features. "I wasn't actually expecting you to get what I was talking about."

"I love Marvel comics." She admitted, a bit shyly, not sure if saying so would make her seem too nerdy or lame. Were comic books cool anymore? Were they ever?

The roads were deserted, and he hadn't seen a single vehicle since they left the bar. Her apartment, according to the directions she gave him, was just around the corner. Letting up on the brake, he allowed the car to roll forward, giving only a slight push on the accelerator. This girl had managed to interest him even more, and he was far from eager to have the time end. "Is The Hulk your favorite?"

"No. I love the X-Men."

"Let me guess. Wolverine and Cyclops, right?"

Mercedes chuckled lightly, shaking her head at the question. "Well, you must admit that Wolverine is pretty bad-ass, and I love how he doesn't take shit from anyone..."

"Plus Hugh Jackman is insanely hot."

She laughed even more. "And yes, Hugh Jackman may be mildly attractive, but I wouldn't say Wolverine's my favorite. He's everyone's favorite; he belongs to the masses. As for Scott Summers, he is a whiny, spoiled pretty-boy little brat." The contempt with which she spoke made it sound as though she were speaking about someone she knew personally.

There was passion in that, and while he greatly admired it, Sam couldn't help but let out a laugh as he eased the car against the curb where she pointed him. He shifted into park. "So, no to Wolverine and no to the pretty boy Summers. Who then?"

Shifting in her seat, Mercedes turned so that she could face him more directly. "Rogue." A playful smirk worked its way across her lips. "I know it's kind of lame, and there are others who probably seem much cooler or smarter or with more awesome powers, but Rogue's been my favorite since I was little. I mean, yeah, Jean Gray gets to turn into Phoenix, Hank is insanely smart, Xavier and Magneto are capable of ruling the world, Kurt Wagner can teleport, Oro gets to fly by controlling the weather and everyone else has all their cool powers, but Rogue is... I don't know.

"There's something about her. She's impassioned and real. She loses control and questions herself and... I know this is ridiculous but... I liked her hair. I always thought my hair was so ordinary and lame, and I wanted hair just like hers. It was different and cool. Sassy."

He smiled at the girl in his passenger seat, chuckling softly. She watched him as he took in her words, relieved that he seemed to be interested rather than put off. Slowly, one of his hands left the steering wheel and began to work its way towards her. Mercedes' eyes fell to the movement, and seeing it caused her heart to speed up a noticeable degree. A single finger curled around a lock of her dark brown hair. "I like your hair."

For a moment, she could not remember how to speak, sensing the closeness of his skin to hers. His hand didn't move away as he stared at it and then looked to Mercedes staring back at him. There was a moment that neither moved. Then, as if just realizing what he had done, he slid his hand away, an unsure, shy grin on his face. "What about you?" She nervously tried to break the bit of tension, while equally trying to keep her voice even. "Do you have a favorite?"

His face relaxed some, which she took as a good sign. "Honestly, I would probably have to say Gambit, with his crazy little card tricks and such." Before she was aware of finding it funny, Mercedes chuckled. "Yeah, I know. 'Oooh, card tricks', but..."

"No, no it's not that; Gambit is pretty cool. It's..." There was no way to say what she thought without it being in any way awkward. As Sam watched her, a tiny bit of pink rose to her cheeks. She was wishing she hadn't laughed in the first place. His face was still relaxed as he looked at her curiously and expectantly. "Gambit and Rogue kind of had a thing. They were one of the longest relationships in the series."

His sideways grin was back, causing her to feel less nervous and more nervous at the same time. "You know, I figured after getting my Hulk reference and calling Storm 'Oro' that you kind of knew your stuff, but Rogue and Gambit... that wasn't in the movies. You've actually read the comics." He was looking her straight in the eyes, leaving her stomach to start doing flips. The grin extended up to his eyes, and scattered traces of thoughts with no true connection ran through her head.

Control. That one kept coming back. Control. Mercedes wanted to regain her sense of control. "I have some nerd-like tendencies, I guess," She joked, trying to keep her voice calm. "There are times when I get passionate about things and I just do everything I can to master that thing, you know?"

"Wow. I wish I had that much passion."

"Oh, come on. Earlier, you asked me about the show, and I said it looked like you were having fun. That's because you were. You enjoy singing and playing, the music, the harmonies... it has nothing to do with being up on stage or the screaming girls or whatever other crazy things that come with it. You have so much passion for that, and it lights you up. It's a great thing..." Mercedes desperately hoped that she would stop talking. Words were flowing from her mouth without any permission of her brain. His eyes and that smile made it hard to think properly. She couldn't get them out of her head.

He was still smiling, but this one was different. Much warmer. This time, it was a tingling in her chest. Suddenly even more nervous and self conscious, she started biting on her bottom lip, a habit she had long since kicked. "You're something else." He was very good looking. He could sing. He was relatively famous. Did he pick up girls all the time? Did he use that smile on them? Guys had always meant so little to her, and she was melting.

"Do you think we could..." He shifted, almost uncomfortably, in his seat. "Do you think we could hang out a bit longer? We could go back to the hotel where I'm staying with Puck and... wait!" He caught her expression and immediately knew that he hadn't presented the idea they way he had wanted to. It sounded like a cheap pick up, the last thing he wanted. "No, I meant... I was just hoping that if you liked comics so much, you might be an appreciator of X-Box."

Mercedes was not for a moment disillusioned. Sam would only be in town for one night. One night and she would never see him again. Mercedes thought of innocence. "Got any good zombie games?"

"Left 4 Dead."

No hesitation. "Sold." He smiled, the type of genuine smile that involves every last inch of the face, and put the car back into drive.

"And I shamefully bow down to the queen of the head shots. I never would have seen that coming." His controller hung limp from his hand as we watched the stats roll along on the screen. "You probably have this game and play it all the time, don't you?"

She felt a bit light from laughing, having barely stopped since they walked into his hotel room, something almost bigger than her apartment. "What? No, I don't even have a TV." It was a fact, and she gave little weight to it.

Forgetting the arbitrary information rolling in front of him, he turned to her. "Why don't you have a TV? I'm guessing your not the type to be morally opposed to it."

That was laughable. "Of course not. I just can't really afford one, that's all. Too many other things that need my wallet's attention, you know?" All at once, she was embarrassed. She hated openly admitting to being broke.

"What kind of things?" It was a question that easily could have been rude or with the air of being nosy, but it didn't come off as either. It was genuine curiosity.

"Uh...B-bills, rent, tuition, food... things like that." She fiddled with the controller in her hand, a wave of embarrassment overcoming her.

Sam wanted to know more, but recognized her embarrassment and decided it was best to not press it. "Thanks for not thinking I'm a total creeper and avoiding my invitation. This was fun."

That smile was back. "Any guy who can appreciate a girl who knows a bit too much about comic books can't be all bad. A little bad, maybe, you know... a homicidal tendency or two... but not _all_ bad." Every second she came up with something new to amaze him. As he laughed at her off hand comment about murderers, he felt himself being pulled to her even more. "I had a lot of fun, too."

He glanced up to the clock next to the bed. It was past 4:00 a.m. "I would say it's getting late, but that would a lie. It has been late. Would you like me to take you home?"

"Only if you want. I don't have work until tomorrow night, but it is late, so if you would like me to..."

"I want you to stay." The words came out quickly, cutting her thought short. "It's not everyday you find a girl who can have a coherent conversation about Marvel characters. Besides, I should really redeem myself in this game. You effectively made me look like a noob." There was that smile again, her beautiful, imperfect, perfect smile.

Her soft hand fell on his thigh. "I hear they can take your man card away for losing to a girl."

All thoughts left from his mind but the feel of her hand the warmth of her smile. He had to keep his thoughts focused. "In my defense, we were on the same team..." Though he spoke the words smoothly, he truly wasn't sure if they made sense. Her hand was too warm.

"Hey! Sam!" There was a sudden pounding at his door. "Yo, man, do you..." The door swung open and Puck stood behind it. "Well, hello." His eyes fell on Mercedes then to her hand on his leg before turning to his best friend with a mischievous grin. "Not interested, huh? You know, I've got some..."

"Dude, shut up!" Flustered, Sam stood, causing her hand to fall away. "Sorry, just give me one second." Somewhat confused, Mercedes only nodded and watched him walk away. The door slammed a bit harsher than necessary behind them. "What is your problem?" Sam growled as soon as the door was closed.

Puck chuckled, amused by the hostility. "How was I supposed to know you had the waitress in there? You said you weren't interested."

"Mercedes. Her name is Mercedes, and she's not here for me to have a meaningless one night stand with, okay? She needed a ride home after work, so I offered her one."

This seemed to amuse Puck even more. "You do realize this _isn't_ her home, right? Take a little bedroom detour on your way there?"

"Would you drop it?"

"In one second." He walked away into his own room of the hotel and returned only a few seconds later. "Take this and I'll drop it."

To Sam's great annoyance, his friend held a condom out to him. "What did I just say! I'm not looking to get laid." His voice almost rose above a whisper, but he refused to let Mercedes hear him.

"You also said you weren't interested, but that doesn't exactly explain how she ended up in that bedroom."

"I'm not interested in hooking up with her. She's intriguing and cute and sweet and I want to get to know her better, like normal human beings who aren't solely driven by their hormones get to know each other." Sam pushed Puck's hand away.

"Take it."

"No!"

"Take it, or I go in there and hand it to her. You know I will, too." As if to prove his point, Puck took a step toward the door and began to move around the body in front of him.

There was no doubt in Sam's mind that what his friend said was true. "You're an asshole." Reluctantly, he took the small wrapping from his hand and shoved it directly into his pocket, hoping beyond hope that Mercedes would never find out it was there. "You happy now?"

"Ecstatic. And you'll thank me later."

Doubting this completely, Sam turned his back and walked into the room again, closing the door behind him. "Sorry about that, Puck isn't very..."

"What' you're favorite song?" Mercedes asked suddenly, cutting him off as she stared across the room at a small CD collection on the corner of the wooden dresser.

Initially confused, he followed her gaze, somewhat relieved at not having to try to explain what had just happened, yet fearing she may have heard some of it. Even so, he went along. "To listen to or to sing?"

Standing, she walked over to the stack and glanced across the titles, unwilling to touch them without his permission. "If every song in the world were obliterated save for one, which song would you want to survive?"

He chuckled, enjoying the abnormal context of such a question. "That's a lot of pressure," he jested as he clicked the lock and walked over toward her. "I mean, who could dare say only one song by... One Republic, Michael Jackson... Weird Al," Mercedes smirked at the last addition, "then you have Mozart and Beethoven." His body was inches behind her as he reached around to pick a few cases off the top, flipping through them.

There was nothing she could do to ignore his closeness but refused to let anything show. "Alright, how about... you're life would not be complete if this song hadn't existed. What's the song?"

That passion was back. It was more than a polite question; it was something she truly desired to know and understand. Yes, there was pressure, but that only gave it more depth, more importance. Putting down the cases he had in his hands, he rifled through a few more before picking one up that was at the bottom. He held it out to her. Their bodies were almost touching. "50 cent? Really?"

"Not everything is as it seems." Without meaning to, he had leaned closer and whispered into her ear. His breath was warm, giving her chills.

Curious, and needing to fill her head with more than the sound of his voice, she flipped the case open. "Oh! Not 50 cent." A burned disc lay inside the case.

"Not at all." Drawing even closer, which neither would have thought possible, he pried the CD from its case and leaned to the other side of her, "I've always wanted to do a cover of this song, but Puck doesn't like it all that much. And there's something about it for me that's intimidating. I don't think I have the right tone to do it justice." Opening the CD player on the other side of dresser he placed the disc inside and flipped through the tracks until it came to the one he wanted.

Mercedes sensed more than saw his movements, but was still enticed by them. Once the music began to flow from the speakers, her attention turned fully to it, letting go of everything else. Both listened, Sam immediately wondering if the song was inappropriate in the circumstances. _Freak on a Leash_ with Korn and Amy Lee played to them, and the song was almost halfway through before he leaned further to the side and peered at her to see her reaction.

With her eyes closed, she looked even more stunning than she had all throughout the night. The calm yet rough urgency of the music swept through her, easing her breath yet taking it away at the same time. His arm brushed against hers gently, unintentionally, but he did not move it.

The song ended, and for a moment, Mercedes opening her eyes was the only movement. "How was it?" His voice was little more than a whisper, leaving warm breath to tickle across Mercedes' bare neck. It was the first time he had shared his feelings for this song with anyone other than Puck.

Her own breath caught as she realized once again how close he was. The skin of his arms still rested against her own. "Passionate," she all but gasped. The next song on the disc started, but neither of them processed the music as it flowed out of the small speakers. The only sound they heard was the sound of the other breathing.

Slowly, he lifted one of his hands from the dresser where both had rested on either side of Mercedes' body. With endless hesitation, he placed his shaking fingers against her waist, more nervous than he could process. "Can I kiss you?" He whispered, voice barely audible, but intoxicating. His lips were mere inches away from the sensitive skin of her neck.

No words came to her, but she began to turn toward him, trapped between his body and the dresser as his fingers trailed her middle. Keeping a steady pace, her heart thumped in her chest and to her ears, so much that she wondered if he could hear it. Then his fingers traced the inner part of her arm, moving upward slowly while she gazed directly into his eyes. Over and across her shoulder, gently to her neck. She might have wondered if he could feel her pulse, but her mind was wiped clean of everything but his eyes and the warmth of his breath.

Sam was all too aware of the beating in his own chest. Doing what he hadn't thought he would when he offered her a ride home, he began to lean closer, his eyes darting between hers. Space disappeared between their bodies as his eyes slipped down to her lips. Neither dared to breathe. His lips were soft against her own, gentle and controlled.

Mercedes didn't move, not even to kiss him back, too confused in what was happening. Sensing her hesitation, he began to pull himself away. All at once the sensation of his fingertips, the warmth of his body and the contour of his lips overwhelmed her, and she followed him forward, unwilling to let him go. A heavy sigh against his lips was all he needed to encourage him. Sliding his hand further behind her neck and bringing his other to rest on her lower back, he pulled her closer, still moving as gently as he could against her. His lips kneaded her own, warm and welcoming.

Wanting more, she slid her body against his, snaking her own hands up around his neck and deepening their kiss. Every touch of his was sensual and undemanding. His mind told him to slow down, not to push things, but everything about Mercedes pulled him in, as if she were the answer to a question he hadn't known he'd asked.

A ripple washed through him as he felt the softness of her tongue brush against his lips, slowly and with mild reservation. Contrary to her expectations, he did not push her away in disgust, but tilted his head even further into her. Regardless, he was unwilling to lose control or take advantage of the moment. With measured hesitancy, he tickled his tongue against hers, eliciting a sigh that tempted his control. She tasted sweet and perfect; he wanted more.

Through his movements, she was all too aware of his desire to go slow, but she needed to be sure slow would never equal stop. Her mouth opened more, pulling him into a deeper kiss as her tongue slid against his teeth. The music still coming from the CD player covered their heavy breathing from everyone else. For them, however, there was no other sound in the room but the gentle moans of the other. Sam ran his tongue against Mercedes', feeling every muscle and nerve in his body jump with excitement. "Mmm..." She moaned into his lips, causing him to all but lose it.

Without thinking, he moved both hands down her body and hooked underneath her white t-shirt, slowly bringing it upward. She only kissed him more deeply, pulling herself away the smallest bit to allow him to continue. His fingers trailed a path along the outside of her cami, pushing her outer shirt upward painfully slow until it reached her shoulders. Breaking contact for the shortest time possible, she stopped their kiss and lifted her arms. Had he not been so lost in his lust, he would have taken the time to memorize every last inch of her, but she pressed her body quickly against his and urged him forward.

Once her shirt hit the floor, he lowered his lips to her bare neck, clutching at her body and leaving a trail of kisses along the sensitive skin. Mercedes' chest rose and fell heavily, breaths only speeding up at his touch. Small moans jumped from her throat, exciting him more, and ripping his self-control even further away. He kissed down to her shoulders, across to the hollow of her throat and up the other side as she twisted her fingers through his hair and began rubbing against him.

He mustered the self-control that remained and pulled his lips from her body to look at her. Sensing his movement, she looked down to him and couldn't help but smile at the gentle look in his eyes. "You have an amazing smile." It wasn't something he intended to say, but it was something he completely meant. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. Her smile didn't falter. The thought was in the forefront of her mind that it was nothing more than a line. Compliments were just part of the game boys played, part of making a girl feel special. "And that wasn't just a line." Taking a deep breath, Sam tried to slow his thoughts. "It's my last night in town."

"I know." She had heard an exchange between the stagehands that told her just this.

"I don't want you to think that that's the reason that you're here. I didn't invite you here because... well, for..."

Mercedes chuckled nervously, even more unsure of what to say, and bit down on the corner of her bottom lip. As much as Sam wanted to keep his intention pure, he couldn't help but watch the movement with interest. "You really shouldn't do that."

"And what happens if I do?"

Sam's lips found hers again.

Without hesitation, Mercedes slipped her tongue past his lips and softly, yet urgently, into his mouth. One less layer separated their skin, and she reveled in his warmth, wanting more of him. She rubbed against his body. Their kissing turned fast and frantic, moans and heavy breaths masked only by the music that still played beyond their awareness. "You feel so good," Mercedes whispered against his lips.

He gripped her quickly, wrapping his hands around her upper thighs and hoisting her up so she sat atop the dresser, not allowing an inch to separate their bodies. His lips dropped again to her neck, earning him a soft moan. Tightly, she secured her legs around him as she threw her head back, bringing his hardened member against her soft, wet, tight...

There was nothing he could do to shake the thoughts from his head as her body rocked up and down against his most sensitive area. Everything about her, the feel of her skin, the flicker of her tongue, her scent, the way her body moved against his left him helpless. She was rocking back and forth, exciting him so deeply that a small band of sweat began to form across his forehead. Only one hope remained in salvaging his control. "Tell me to stop..." He breathed heavily against the perfectly soft skin of her neck. If she said it, he could get back to reality. He needed to hear from her the only thing that could stop him from what he had never planned on doing.

"Don't stop."

His arms secured her tightly against him as he lifted her and turned them toward the bed. The only thoughts in his head were of her and how badly he wanted her. Mercedes was nervous beyond explanation, never having done anything like this before and fearing she couldn't satisfy him. At least, she thought, she was able to turn him on. Their bodies dropped together to the bed, Mercedes on her back with him still between her legs.

Frantic kissing passed between the two. He moved without rhythm, passing from her neck to her lips, down to her bared chest and back up to her lips. At times he pulled her up to a seated position, with her straddling his lap, only to lower her back down again. One of his hands stayed planted at the back of her head while the other explored in an equally sporatic pattern.

Still needing more, Mercedes grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it upward, running her soft hands over his solid back. In no time, he pulled it over his own shoulders and threw it to the floor, unwilling to break from her skin. With a few more solid kisses against her mouth, he kissed down the front of her throat, and continued down her chest until he was pushing at her cami. Groping almost thoughtlessly at her large perfectly rounded chest, he began to pull the fabric aside before deciding to get the shirt out of his way completely. He only needed to lift it past her navel before she ripped it off herself, allowing him to adjust his focus to shifting her bra and bringing his tongue to her exposed nipples.

Kneading her breasts together, he moved back and forth between the two quickly. "Mmm..." she moaned, encouraging him. "Oh...yes..." Her fingers wrapped around the back of his head, keeping him in place as their eyes locked. Just looking at him excited her even more; she ground her hips against him. Sam pressed his lips against hers solidly, quieting her moan, as he unhooked her bra and threw it to join the other abandoned articles of clothing on the floor of his hotel room.

Within seconds, he pulled them both upward, leaving Mercedes straddling his lap while he ran his hands over her body, kissing every inch of bare skin he could reach. She consciously had to keep her head from falling backward in ecstasy, wanting to watch him and look him in the eye as he moved along her. His arms wrapped tightly around her back while she rocked against him before his hands fell to the button of her black work slacks, quickly undoing them. Her weight lifted upward, just enough to get the pants as well as her panties past her hips until she simply stood next to the bed and dropped them to the floor, stepping out and moving to climb on top of him again.

Having other plans, he hooked her leg and pulled it above his shoulder, doing the same with the other. Mercedes nerves rose, but she found that she trusted this boy she barely knew and resisted her urge to push him away. Her body hovered above his face, until he gripped her naked thighs solidly and pulled her downward, running his soft warm tongue over her pussy. "Uh!" The sensation almost caused her to fall backwards, but he tightened his hold and steadied her frame, clamping his lips around her clit and sucking her in.

Once again, she bit down on her bottom lip, this time preventing herself from calling out. Sam watched her wiggle and twitch, unable to resist her taste and sweet aroma as he ran his tongue over her sensitive skin again and again, sucking on her clit at the perfect time to work her up but keep her from peaking.

She fell back against his knees, which were angled upward, and rested her hands against his stomach, shaking against his grip, but having no strong desire to move. Thoughts of innocence flashed across her mind, but she shoved them away. The look in his eye told Mercedes his focus was solely on her, leaving her to want him even more. She wanted to return the pleasure.

Unsure of exactly what to do, she reached behind her, attempting to steady her shaking despite his tongue still flicking against her pussy, and grabbed at his belt, undoing it blindly before moving on to the button of his jeans. Momentarily lost in his frantic flicks of the tongue, she managed to keep from screaming out and worked her hand under the waistband of his jeans. The closer her soft skin moved toward his solid prick, the faster his tongue worked against her. "Shi... yes... oh!"

Her hand wrapped around him and started stroking, causing him to moan against her pussy. Quickly, he freed one hand and pushed his jeans and boxers downward, shifting between pushing and kicking – without once pulling his lips away from her – before dropping them to the floor with his foot. She stroked him behind her back while still bucking against him, working her soft hand up and down him. Stopping quickly, she ran her tongue across her palm to wet it and continued to work his cock. He pulled her upward, wanting to keep the focus solely on her, but she resisted, needing to feel him and pleasure him, as hoped she was doing.

With a different tactic in mind, he lifted her solidly by the hips and threw her to her back. His own body followed quickly and he pinned her legs to her chest before dropped his face to her dripping pussy. He licked her up and down as she pushed against him, "Uh... fuck! Oh, God... uh... uh..."not sure how much longer she could take it. The muscles in her stomach tightened and contracted, shaking every inch of her body. Still, he did not slow, and it was all she could do to keep herself from shoving him off completely, not that she could have moved him an inch if he didn't give in.

Her chest rose and fell heavily. "God... Oh, God!" If she grew any louder, the still-playing music would do nothing to muffle her. Recognizing this, he broke his assault and pulled her downward, covering her mouth with his own. Her juices were sweet on her lips as she ran her tongue across them. "I want you." She breathed.

Another moment of sense came to him, but it was weak. "We don't have to..."

"Don't stop." Her eyes were solidly on his, and there was nothing he could do to resist. Pulling away, he reached down toward his jeans, slipping his finger into the pocket and pulling out the small package Puckk had forced on him earlier. As much as he had believed he was right when they had argued in the hall, Sam was suddenly glad for his friend's insistence. He tore the package open quickly and threw the unneeded parts to the floor before slipping the tight latex over himself.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he held her in place and aimed his cock toward her waiting pussy. She breathed deeply, trying to relax herself with the thought of what was about to happen. She told him not to stop, and he wasn't about to. The tip pushed in and she drew a breath sharply. "Hey." Without pulling back, he raised his eyes to her level and gazed at her, unable to suppress a small sideways smile. "I won't hurt you." His words came ragged and labored as his breath was anything but steady. Nonetheless, he meant them to be true.

"I know." She whispered back, still trying to keep herself calm. His smile helped more than any of her own thoughts did, sending butterflies all throughout her insides. Slowly, he began to slide into her, not stopping the motion until his pelvic bone collided with hers. "Uh..." She was tight and warm. He had to concentrate with everything he had to keep from all out fucking her. He didn't want to hurt her in any way, and he could see in her eyes how easily hurt she could be. Again, he dropped his lips to hers and kissed her soundly while beginning to rock in and out of her. The bare skin of their chests rubbed hotly together as she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. Their kisses broke for only fractions of seconds.

Turning their bodies slightly to the side, he wrapped his fingers around her hip and rocked her body against his, adding to the pace of his thrusts. His tongue ran over her lips, quieting her moans and preventing his own. This was the last thing he had expected to happen when he picked her out of the crowded bar and nothing like Mercedes had thought it would be. Countless girls had thrown themselves at him, but he always said no. This girl smiled and he lost all control. Even through the thin latex, her pussy gripped his cock in all the right ways, leaving him grunting with every motion.

Pulling away from their kiss no more than an inch, he stared straight into her eyes, pulling against her hip harder, speeding the movement. Up and down she slid, lost in his eyes and the feeling. His cock rubbed all the right places. His warm skin tingled against her own. His eyes held nothing but passion. "You feel so good," panting, he echoed the words she had spoken earlier. He slammed into her harder, never breaking eye contact. "Oh, Mercedes."

Hearing a name sent a tingle through her heart, causing her breath the hitch. She wanted him, and had since the moment he touched her in his car. "Don't stop." She _needed_ him. "Please don't stop." Their lips brushed together, without kissing, with the sway of her body under his. His solid cock filled her and pushed against her insides, rubbing the perfect places.

"Uh...mmm... I won't. I can't...oh... I want you." She gripped him tighter as his pace quickened even more. Both found their breath falling to pants and moans. With that speed, she felt herself rising to a high she had never felt before. Just as she was sure it couldn't feel any better, he lowered his other hand to her, grinding his fingertips against her clit as he slammed their bodies together. Mercedes buried her face against his neck in an attempt to muffle the rising screams of pleasure. "That feel good?" He whispered against her ear, the sound of his voice almost more than she could handle. Shaking, it was obvious that a loss of control was coming.

"Wait... wait..." Her hand rose to his chest, bracing herself against him to slow him down. With much conscious effort, he relaxed himself, moving in and out slowly, only pulling halfway out before slipping back in. The look in her eye told him a lot: she was scared. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, wanting to make her feel safe as he cradled her head against his chest.

The sound of his heartbeat is what did it. Her breathing slowed and the panic that had begun to fill her subsided. "You okay?" Though unsteady, genuine concern was obvious in his voice. Not trusting her own voice, she nodded against his ribs. "We can stop." It wasn't a polite offer. He truly meant it.

This time, she shook her head. "I don't want it to stop. You were just..." She chuckled nervously, "I was getting too close." Again, he was lost in her smile. "I didn't want it to end yet. You feel way to good." As if to prove her point, she rocked herself back and forth, sliding along his cock.

Tilting her head away from his chest, Sam kissed her with restrained passion. It was almost impossible to think with her tight pussy wrapped around his cock. "Are you sure?" She looked straight into his eyes and gave a crooked smirk, a good enough answer for him. "Come here." He rolled further onto his side and pulled her along, facing her away from him. With her back pressed up against his chest, he entered her once more. He hoped that with less pressure against her clit, she would get what she wanted and last longer.

Locking his arms around her chest, he held her in place and moved with deliberate speed, leaning down to slip his tongue past her lips. She returned his kiss eagerly, moaning against his lips and allowing herself to get lost in every sensation. He rocked in and out of her quickly, as her pussy refused to release him. An arm moved to her middle while the other stayed tightly against her chest. "Oh...oh... God..." The words muffled against his mouth as she tried not to call out. The CD moved on to another track, but neither noticed.

He sped up, slamming himself against her with a small grunt to punctuate each movement. Almost overwhelmed, she clutched to his hand, intertwining her fingers with his desperately. He was at a steady pace, loving nothing more than the feel of being inside of her, but knowing he was getting close. The hand on her stomach began to slip downward. "How does it feel?"

"Oh God!"

"Does it feel good?" He knew the answer, but wanted to get her thinking about exactly what was happening. His hand slid further down.

"Yes... yes!"Her screams, one again, were quieted against his lips as his fingers found her clit.

"I want to make you cum." His thrusts came faster as his fingers began to rub against her. She squirmed and bucked. "Cum for me." Instantly, she was scared. Mercedes had no idea what it would be, what it should feel like. Just as she decided to push him away again, a new sensation came to her. Sam's cock tightened and twitched inside of her, and she realized just how close he was. More than anything in that moment, Mercedes wanted for this boy to get his release. More than anything in that moment, Sam wanted to give a release to her. He thrust in and out of her pussy with measured speed, but as quickly as he could, rubbing his fingers solidly against her most sensitive spot. Grunts and groans fell from his lips without pause. "I want to make you cum." He whispered to her again, this time making it obvious how determined he was.

Mercedes saw only one option that didn't scare the hell out of her. "AH! God! Yes...YES!" Allowing her body to tense and shift in all the right ways, she faked it as best she could, hoping he would never know the difference.

"Mmm!" He thrust deep into her before the tension became too much and he released. Everything caught in the bit of latex Puck had forced on him, but Mercedes could feel the shift nonetheless. "Oh God..." He panted, planting a small kiss on her neck. "Wow... Jesus..." Before moving away from her, he lay with her in his arms, attempting to regain his breath. Mercedes anticipated a wave of regret to come over her as soon as the high was done, but as Sam began to plant small, slow kisses along her bare neck and shoulder – a place she never knew was so sensitive or sensual – she felt nothing close to regret.

Inch by inch, Sam slid his softening cock out of her, and marveled at the sense of loss that accompanied the final inch. "You..." He began between kisses as he worked his way up to her lips. "I..." There was a desire to tell Mercedes that he loved her, but that wasn't true – not yet anyway – and those were words he would SamSamSamnever speak unless he meant them. He felt something though, something he wasn't certain of how to put into words.

Just as he was about to try again, Mercedes turned and looked at him, a perfect tentative smile across her lips. "You are so beautiful." As her entire body filled with warmth, her smile was almost lost in her confusion. If she was just a one night stand, why would he need to compliment afterward, after he had already gotten what he wanted. Stealing her thoughts away, Sam tickled his fingertips lightly across the side of her face, settling just below her chin. He leaned down and pressed his warm lips gently against her own, kissing her slowly but without sense of holding back. Neither felt the need to slide their tongue against the other, desiring instead the more intimate and less erotic.

When their kissing ended with final pecks, Sam slid his hand further down her body and, finding her own fingertips, brushed against her skin gently. "Don't go anywhere, okay?" He whispered against her skin. "I'll be right back." She nodded, and both watched and felt as he raised himself from the bed and moved away from her. Picking his jeans and shirt up from the floor, he pulled them on quickly and worked his way over to the door. As soon as he slipped out, Mercedes released a heavy sigh and tried to put her thoughts in order. This night – morning really – was not supposed to mean a thing. One night stands happened in movies, that was her only frame of reference. This didn't seem right. It didn't feel like the detached crazy things that she always saw.

Sam stood in the bathroom with the door closed, leaning over the sink after he had tossed the condom in the toilet. While he knew it wasn't the best place for it, the last thing he wanted was for Puck to find it. This was something he did not want to share with anyone else. Looking at himself in the mirror, he retraced the night, unable to believe that it had ended up the way it did. How, when he never desired or imagined more than spending innocent time with Mercedes, had he ended up with her naked in his bed? He wished he had taken his time more, his thoughts traveling back to her talking about girls being reduced to meat. The only thing he knew was that he had to see her again. It couldn't be a one night stand if he had always intended on talking to her after this night.

Working his way back into the room and over to the perfect naked form that lie under his covers, he decided to ask her for whatever he could get: phone number, e-mail, skype name... anything. That information, however, could wait until morning, after he had felt her in his arms again. "You must be exhausted." His comment came as he stripped off his shirt and threw it once again to the floor.

She nodded, nervous about what was to come. Being kicked out would make everything that had happened a bit harder to handle. "Do you want me to leave?"

"What?" He stopped in the middle of dropping his jeans, standing in just his boxers, and looked at her squarely. "No, of course not." Crawling over her, he pulled her plump naked frame against his hard body. "I want you to stay right here for as long as you can." Both reveling in the other's warmth, they were pulled gently toward sleep as the sunrise began to peak through the window shades. "Don't go anywhere, okay?" He whispered again, just seconds before his consciousness left him.

He kissed her shoulder gently before moving to climb over her. The clock next to the bed told him it was a little after ten in the morning, earlier than he would have expected to awaken given the time they finally laid down for sleep. Pulling the same pair of jeans and the t-shirt he had worn the night before back on, he scribbled a note on the watermarked pad of the hotel. After positioning it under the clock, a place he hoped she would see it if she so much as glanced at the time, he pressed his lips firmly to her forehead. "I'll be right back."

The sound of a door closing jolted her from sleep. The second her eyes opened, she realized that she had stupidly fallen asleep with her contacts in, again. Vision blurry, she reached to her night stand for her glasses - so she could get her contacts out and have her sight back - brushing aside the few things that were there, before quickly realizing it wasn't her night stand. In that moment, she also realized the only fabric covering her body was the thin sheet of the bed. The night came back to her in a rush as she blinked frantically, shifting her contacts around until things became clearer. With a glance at the clock, she saw it was a bit after ten. A glance in the other direction, however, told her that there was no one else in the bed.

Quickly surveying her surroundings, she noticed Sams's clothing was gone from the floor, but her own remained as a scattered mess. He woke up and disappeared, probably hiding out somewhere until he thought that she would have left, saving him from awkwardly having to kick her out. Wanting to get home and get her glasses on, she quickly collected her things from the floor and dressed herself. When she moved out into the main area of the hotel, she looked into the bathroom, the kitchen and the living room area. All were empty.

Just as she was about to travel to the door, she realized there was something more she wanted, a memento to always prove the night had been real. Once she opened the CD player and slipped the disc from its grip, she surveyed the room once more, noticing the messy bed, the remaining stack of CDs and the abandoned video game controllers from when they had been playing. She did not, however, notice the piece of paper she had knocked to the floor. With nothing else to do, she slipped her shoes back on her feet and left the hotel room, already looking forward to the mile long walk that would help her clear her head.

_Mercedes – Whatever you do, please don't leave. I just went to get us some breakfast, and I will be right back. I want to see you again after today. -Sa_


	3. Chapter 3

3 Months Later

Mercedes turned up the volume on the CD player next to her bed as she ruffled her hair within a towel, drying the proof of her recent shower. Even at seven in the morning, the August air was warm as it swept through her open window, throwing papers around on her desk. She rocked steadily to the familiar music, having had no other disc in the player for three months, and scanned her shallow closet for something to wear on the first day back to classes. There wasn't much to choose from, but she rarely complained.

The chorus of the song started, and she sang along, pushing her legs into simple bootcut jeans and pulling a blue, loose tank top over her head. Even in the simplicity, the clothing was nicer than she would normally wear. Raising the volume even more, Mercedes slipped into the hallway-sized kitchen and dropped a slice of bread into her toaster, still singing along with the music. It took only half an hour, and a quick comb through her hair, before she was ready to go.

For her fourth first day after summer vacation, nothing was out of the ordinary. While Mercedes was friendly and always helpful, she did not have a large expanse of friends, and always seemed to be days behind on gossip. So as she walked into the library, her second job during the school year, after spending half a day around people gossiping about the newest students, she was oblivious.

"Hey, Mercedes. How's the first day going?" A librarian greeted her as she walked in. " Wait, don't tell me you're working today?"

Mercedes returned a smile and shook her head. "Not as far as I know, just dropping in to say hi and grab a book from upstairs. I'll probably see you tomorrow, though." With another smile, she turned and worked her way over to the stairs, opening the glass doors and traveling up the five flights to the top floor and slipping behind the empty employee desk.

"Puck, this isn't funny!" Sam flipped behind a door with his friend. "Why are there girls _everywhere_ we go?"

Puck shook with laughter, throwing his head back. "Most of them are cute, what's the big deal?"

"Alright, man. If it's no big deal, you fend them off, and I will go into the library and grab my book. Unlike _some_ people, I'm at school to study, not be stalked by crazy girls." Giving Puck a push, he turned to the door of the library and walked inside. "Excuse me," he approached the woman sitting behind the information desk, "could you tell me where I can find this call number?"

The same woman who had greeted Mercedes just minutes earlier, gave Sam a smile. "If you go through those glass doors there, you can take the elevator or the stairs up to the top floor. There should be someone at the desk up there who can point you in the right direction." He nodded and followed the path she pointed.

"Sam!" Before even looking, he understood by the tone of the girly shriek that this was not something he wanted to deal with. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed this. "Hey, Sam! Hi, I'm Sugar. I wanted to welcome you to campus." Although the girl was cute, with light brown hair and a pleasant smile, he didn't find himself interested. "Maybe I could treat you to lunch, or a drink tonight... or maybe you could treat me?" Her suggestive tone spoke volumes for her intentions.

Already moving away, he shook his head. "Sorry, I can't." He moved swiftly up the last three steps and threw open the glass door at the top.

"Sam, wait." He wished he could just hide from all of the girls who had called his name during the day. Flipping around the desk just inside the doorway, he considered going into the staff room to avoid this new one.

Just as he slipped to the other side, Mercedes stepped out from the staff room and nearly walked in to the body shifting toward her. Looking up, she caught his eye and her mouth dropped. "Oh."

"Mercedes?"

"Sam!" The brunette caught up to him and placed a hand on his arm, trying to turn him to face her. "Come on, I won't take no for an answer." She peered around him, saw Mercedes standing just inches away and made a face. "Who's that?"

"Mercedes?" She could think of nothing to say, but couldn't help the tiny quiver of her lip as she fought the conflicted feelings raging through her. "This is..." at the same time, Sam fought a similar confusion, but was completely aware of the unwanted hand that rested on him. "...my girlfriend." The words were hardly convincing, but as he spoke them again, they were more solid. "This is my girlfriend,Mercedes." Slipping his arm around her, he glanced downward, hoping she didn't give away his lie, and hoping even more than she would not be upset by it.

The brunette certainly was. "Girlfriend?"

"I was wondering where you got off to! Breaking more hearts, are you sweetie?" Though Mercedes didn't understand what was going on, she recognized that he needed help. Her smile was more than convincing, and if he had not been so lost in it the first time they'd met, he would have taken it as real. "Hi," she held her hand out, "I'm Mercedes."

"Yeah. Maybe we'll talk some other time, Sam." With a dissatisfied, forced smile, the girl turned on her heel and marched away.

Giving a heavy sigh, he pulled his arm back and looked down at the girl who had invaded his thoughts for the past three months. "Th-thank you." Hesitantly, he took a step back. "Wow... I uh... how are you?" The thought of running into her occurred to him when he got the long awaited acceptance letter into the school, but he wasn't ready for it yet.

Mercedes hadn't expected to run into him at all. Her mind flashed to the CD she had listened to just a few hours before, despite how hard she tried to push the thought away. "I'm... good. Great. How have you been?" His perfect eyes drilled into her.

"Good... good." Unlike the hundreds of times he had imagined this moment, he could think of nothing to say. A million questions had come to him through the months, but all of them fell flat when he looked into her eyes. His heart raced as silence enveloped them. His mouth fell open as he tried to speak and found himself unable to form a complete thought. "You... It's really good to s..."

"I better go. I have to work tonight, so..." She turned and started to go back into the staff room, but turned back around, wanting to say something more. "The library is open until 2 a.m.. If you want to avoid a repeat, you might want to become a bit more naucternal until the crazy girls on this campus get used to you."

Unable to believe she was already walking away, he tried desperately to think of something to hold her there, "are you here at two?" Or at least ensure he could see her again.

With a small, nervous bite to the inside of her bottom lip, she shook her head. "No. Most students workers are done by midnight. After that the only ones left in here are security and the circulation supervisors, who are all a bunch of middle aged men. I doubt they'd put quite as much effort into trying to get you to go out with them as other people seem to." Giving an awkward smile, she turned again and started away.

"Mercedes," hesitantly, she stopped and looked back at him one last time. "Thank you for playing along just now, and... do you think maybe we could go out sometime and... catch up, hang out?"

Images of the night she spent with him flashed through her head, but she shook them away as best she could. She did not want him to think he would be able to get the same thing out of her again. "Sorry, I can't."

They were the same words he had spoken to the brunette while trying to blow her off, striking him as painful. He refused to push, though, already accepting that this wouldn't be the last time he tried. "Okay. Well... it's really good to see you again. I mean that." No words came to her, nothing good enough, so she settled for nodding before walking away.

"Oh my God, Mercedes! Have you heard?"

"Heard what, Quinn?" Hours later, Mercedes stood behind the counter at work, wrapping silverware in napkins while the other waitress, who had ditched out on giving her a ride at least twenty times during the summer months, jumped around next to her, not quite working. During those hours, Mercedes found herself unable to press play on her CD player, not sure how she would feel hearing the song again after seeing Sam's face.

She had thought about him, a lot, every time she played the song he'd played for her, and just about every other waking second. The thoughts were always conflicted, having felt more passion that night than she ever would have imagined possible with another person, yet knowing that that person left first thing in the morning. "...listening, are you?"

"Huh? What?"

Quinn was shaking her head in annoyance, as if it were impossible for her to believe anyone would tune her out. "I knew it. You didn't listen to a thing I just said. Way to go all glassy eyed on me, there."

"I'm sorry, Quinn." Beginning to load the wrapped utensils into a bin, she gave a weary smile. "What were you saying? I'm listening this time, honest."

"Those guys who played here at the beginning of the summer, you know there was the one with that cute crooked smile and his friend with that body to die for? They totally both go to school here now! Everyone's talking about it. I haven't seen them yet, but I will!" Mercedes gave a light chuckle, but showed no further interest, seeming to annoy Quinn even more. "Of course you don't care. You probably didn't even notice how hot those boy were."

Before Mercedes could respond, Will swung out of his office. "What are you going on about this time, Quinn? It better be important if you're leaving Mercedes to do all the work while you just stand there jabbering."

The subtlety was a bit too much for the over zealous girl to comprehend, leaving Mercedes and Will to exchange a look as she babbled on. "You must remember them, Will! Those YouTube guys or whatever that you had here in like May? They totally go to school here now."

"You mean the boys Mercedes went home with?" Her eyes instantly widened, not having realized anyone knew about that.

Heat had just begun to rise to her cheeks as Quinn rounded on her, "You what?"

"Well, not both of them. The more boyish looking one, right? He talked to you after the show and then followed you out back. His car was parked outside my office window, so I saw you get in with him." His words were nonchalant, as if he gave no significance to them.

Accusation was deep in Quinn's eyes. "Come on, it's not what you're thinking. Will couldn't give me a ride, so one of the guys offered. He just took me home, that's all."

"So you weren't interested in him at all?"

"Would you stop being ridiculous?" Mercedes was all but throwing the silverware into the bin now.

Will chuckled heartily at them. "Something must have gone right, Mercedes, if he came looking for you the next day."

More than shock found its way into Mercedes' eyes as she stared at her boss, almost unable, or unwilling, to believe what he had just said. Sam had left her lying in his bed alone after that night. That, in no way, added up to what he had just said. "He did what?"

"Remember, you were supposed to work the next night, but you called in? Normally, I wouldn't remember things like that, but that's the one and only time you've ever said you couldn't work. That boy came by to talk to you, though. Left his number with Jesse. Surely Jesse told you; he said he would pass along the message." Anger welled inside of her that would have made sense to no one else, all but shaking her to the core.

More images attempted to flood her senses, but she denied them with a forced breath. Dropping everything she had left in her hands into the bin, she picked up the entire container and walked away. After fifteen minutes of walking in circles and getting nothing accomplished, but making plenty of noise doing it, Mercedes gave up on being productive and walked over to the office of Will's nephew, throwing the door open without knocking. "Mercedes, I was wondering when you would finally come in here."

Even more anger worked through her, making it difficult to even look at him. "You're a pig."

This seemed to amuse him as he stood and worked his way over toward her, making her lose some of the conviction she had entered with. "I thought you liked me that way."

She shrank back against the doorway, but lifted her head up to face him. "Fuck you, Jesse."

"Funny you should say that since you already..."

"Go. To. Hell. And while you're at it, give me the message you should have given me _three months_ ago." She had to cross her arms solidly across her chest to steady her shaking, a mix of fear and rising rage.

"What do you care? You wouldn't know what to do with a boy's number anyway. Wouldn't want the poor guy to be as disappointed with you as I was." He was sickening close, and she resisted the urge to shove him away.

Despite the pounding pain and warning sirens going off in her head, she kept her voice low. "You're sick."

Jesse twisted his fingers through her hair. If done by anyone else, it may have been caressing, but from him was wrong in every way. "If I remember correctly, that didn't stop you from screaming my name did it?"

"With the words 'get off of me' following shortly after." She shook her head to wane off the incoming thoughts. "Doesn't matter. I got the answer I was looking for." Regardless of how extremely he had risen the anger inside of her, regardless of how badly she wished to scream vile, hateful things at him until her throat was raw, she felt something else within her as well. Her heart felt light with a tingling that threatened to overcome her. The greatest, most confused feeling she had experienced in a long time.

Over a week had gone by since the first day of classes, and while Sam had experienced many similar incidents of female admirers, none of them took place within the library again. He went as far as to avoid the building completely just to prevent it. The thought presented itself, quite often, of going to see her at work but, he was concerned at the possibility of annoying Mercedes, and even more so at putting her off by acting stalker-ish. After dealing with the number of determined girls as he had, he knew what it was like.

The other thing that came to mind was that she had been right. Getting errands done at night proved to be much simpler, and on this night, it was almost one in the morning when he decided to try the library again to retrieve his book.

Very few people were scattered throughout the five floors of the building, but he saw them only through windows and no one looked up at him. Still, he kept the hood of his sweatshirt up, hoping he didn't look like he was causing trouble.

Once he was done, he went down to the main floor toward the circulation desk. As Mercedes had said, there seemed to only be middle aged male workers around. The man scanned his ID and the book, stamping a date inside the front cover. Just as Sam was about to turn and leave, he noticed someone else sitting a few yards away on the curved circulation desk. "Hey."

She looked up from the textbook positioned under her elbows, one covered with complicated looking mathematical equations. Next to her was a copy of The Interview with the Vampire: It was paperback and well worn, showing it was often used. It was also Sam's favorite book. Something about this fact made his heart jump. "Oh hi, Sam." Hearing his name come from her lips made it jump even more. Much to his relief, the tone in her voice was pleasant, showing she was not overtly annoyed by his presence.

"I thought students didn't work past midnight. That's what you said, wasn't it?" As the words came out, he desperately hoped that it didn't sound as though he were trying too hard to prove he had been listening.

To his relief, she smiled. "Yeah, that's right. I'm not actually working right now. I covered someone else's shift, so I worked until midnight. Usually, I would just walk home, but I didn't want to do that by myself this late since I live so far off campus. Mike lives in the same area, though, and he said he'd give me a ride when he gets off, which isn't until 2, so I've just been hanging out, doing homework and reading and such." She nodded to the book next to her and tapped the math text with her pencil, further expressing her statement.

Sam glanced up at the clock on the opposite wall. "So you'll just sit here for another hour?" She nodded, and through her ever-persistent smile he could see the droop in her eyes. She was tired, very tired. "I could give you a ride home if you wanted. I mean, I'd have to go get my car from my apartment, but it's only a few blocks away." Once again, the desire to help her overcame him, but there was more to it with this encounter. He craved the conversation they'd shared, the kind he hadn't found so purely with anyone else.

"Oh no. Thank you, but it's alright. I don't mind waiting for Mike to get off. Don't inconvenience yourself." The words rang quite similar to the last time he had offered.

His response came in a similar fashion as well. "It's no inconvenience. Besides, I definitely owe you for helping me out with that girl the other day."

"I appreciate the offer; it's really nice of you. Another hour won't kill me, though." From the bags under her eyes, it looked like it just might.

"You look exhausted." Many other girls would have been very insulted by such a comment, but, of course, she wasn't. Instead she gave a weary smile, accepting of the truth.

"She is exhausted." The man, Mike, who had checked out his books entered into their conversation. " 'Cedes, you get enough of staying up until 2 a.m. on the nights you're waiting tables. Let the boy give you a ride."

Mercedes was torn. As much as she had thought about Sam since they had met, and as much as that had been amplified after running into him again, she wasn't looking for a repeat. To have that happen would mean ruining what small amount of reason she could give to that night. It would mean he had truly only been looking to get laid, and offered a ride because he thought she would give it again. Her heart beat rose to her ear drums as she stared at him, only patience on his face while he waited for her answer.

"Mercedes," leaning down, he seemed to try to exclude Mike from their conversation. "I promise you, I will just take you straight home. Hands left of center counsel the entire time. You can open your own door, and I won't even get out of the car. I pull away the second I see you get inside. I promise."

How many girls had tried chasing after him during the week? It was a thought she pushed away every time it rose up, the same that she had done with the thought of why he had turned down all of the girls who had been pining for his attention, in order to follow her outside. She could never bring herself to understand why he chose to spend time with her. Then again, the situation she found herself in could have been just what he said; he owed her for playing along to help get rid of that girl. For an instant, her thoughts slipped to Sam handing his phone number to Jesse, handing it to him so he would give it to her. "Okay," she finally said, giving into the slow haze beginning to fill her groggy mind, not to mention the curiosity which had long since invaded it. "I would very much appreciate a ride."

Sam smiled, wide enough to give Mercedes a glimpse of that crooked grin. "Give me ten minutes to get back to my apartment and get my car. Should I come back in here or..."

"The back parking lot, that way you don't have to come up the stairs again."

Unexplained concern rose to his chest. "You sure you want to walk all the way around there by yourself this late?"

"Hoodlums don't hang around the library at night. I'll be fine."

Mike re-inserted herself into their conversation. "She'll take the back stairs out to there anyway."

Putting down her pencil she shook her head at the suggestion. "Students aren't allowed to go out through the back door."

"You're right, they're not," The man shifted his attention to Sam, explaining to him. "But everyone loves Mercedes and there isn't a dishonest bone in her body, so she gets some extra privileges... not that she ever takes advantage of them."

Mercedes gave him a look that was amused and light. Even the slight smile that was on her face caused an onset flutters in Sam's stomach. "I'll see you in a few, then." He said, wanting to get away before he said something stupid.

True to his word, he was outside and waiting in exactly ten minutes. "I really appreciate this." She gave him her warm, waitress smile – as he had come to think of it – as she settled herself into his front seat. Both to her embarrassment and amusement, she noticed the plastic piece from the heater vent was still missing. The Bruce Banner conversation danced through her mind.

"Don't even mention it. You looked too tired for words. And, if I can be honest, you also looked like that nerdy girl who only studies, works and sleeps."

"Strike that last part, and you about have me down." Grogginess muted the inhibitions which had controlled her mind just minutes before when she had told herself to talk as little as possible during the ride.

This was the girl who had admitted to not owning a TV, a girl who worked two jobs and could not afford even a pathetic excuse for a television. "All work and no play..."

Her laughter cut off his sentiment, causing his eyes to leave the road for the smallest second as he attempted to engraine each tiny detail about her laugh into his memory, wishing he had paid more attention to it before. "This Jack is already dull, so no harm there. Promise."

"Reading Marvel comics and protecting prosperity from the impending zombie apocalypse is hardly dull."

Even before the words began to spill from her lips, she wondered how they came so easily. Nothing seemed as though it should be easy when she was nervous beyond belief and afraid of what this boy's intentions were, but he made them simple. She trusted him. "No one actually knows those things about me. You're only as credible as your audience perceives you to be, so I guess I'm dull. But I'm content with that. I like to learn, and I'm a good worker."

"I make up some of that audience, and I don't find you dull." In the name of better judgment, he avoided the desire to ask why he had been allowed to know such things when 'no one' was to know them.

Through the waitress smile, the glint of something more genuine crossed into her features. "Well, thanks." Her heart was beginning to feel light again. A block passed by in silence while both attempted to make sense of their thoughts, sense enough to not say something stupid. Mercedes was the first to try. "So, you go to school here now?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Puck and I both took some time off of school, like a moratorium I guess. When we decided we wanted to go back, this was the one we wanted. He applied early and has known since January that he got in. I _thought_ I'd applied early, but it turned out that I didn't actually submit my application correctly." To his delight, she gave a light chuckle, one that showed amusement but not ridicule. "It was Puck's fault really." His playful tone made her laugh even more, giving a jolt to his gut.

"But you got in, that's the important thing right?" There was very little he could do to keep his thoughts from traveling down the path that said she was happy he got in; she was happy to see him again.

"Yeah, second best thing that's happened to me all year."As soon as the words slipped out, he wished he could pull them back. A quick glance at her expression told him nothing as to how she took the statement.

The ride was only a few minutes, taking less than a quarter of the time it would have for her to walk. As he pulled up in front of the building, he saw what he hadn't paid attention to the previous time. It looked dirty and run down, as if it came straight out of a movie about the inner city. He hated the thought of dropping her off there, but figured she was there alone every night. "Thanks for the ride." Her fingers were already slipping around the door handle.

"Anytime. Actually, here," Grabbing a napkin that was stuffed in the cup holder and pulling a pen from his pocket, he scribbled his number down. "If you ever need a ride or you know, anything, I'd be more than happy to pick you up."

She took the napkin from him, already knowing she would never call him for a ride. Asking for favors or causing people to go out of their way was something she avoided doing at all costs. As she smiled and pulled open the door, he realized that this was exactly how she'd think. "Hey, do you think..." The words needed to come out just right. "Could I take you to dinner tomorrow night?"

All at once, she was nervous, wanting to get away but never wanting to leave. "Uh... sorry. I can't." The speed with which his face fell left her apologetic. "I have to work tomorrow night," she amended.

"At the library?"

"No. I'll be at the bar, closing shift, so I'm there from 5 until like 2. Sorry." Standing, she began to close the car door behind her. Just as she was about to give it a final push, she replayed his words in her head. 'Could I take you to dinner'. Not 'would you like to go to dinner with me' but 'could I take you to dinner', as if she would be doing something nice by accepting rather than it being an honor for her that he asked. Is that how he meant it, or was her brain over thinking it.

The second she decided she was over thinking it, the realization hit her that she had not given him directions this time. He remembered where she lived. She leaned back down into the car. "Are you usually still up this late?"

"Most nights, yeah, why?"

"Well, the bar actually closes around 1, but I usually have to stick around until 2 or so for the manager to finish closing up so that he can give me a ride."

It took everything he had to contain the excitement coursing through him. "I could go pick you up and give you a ride back here, if you wanted." The excitement was infinitely harder to hide when she smiled. It wasn't her waitress smile, but the same one she had given the first time he caught her eyes from the stage, light and gentle. Pure.

"I would really like that. Thank you." Something held her where she was, leaning down through his window, nibbling on the inner part of her lower lip. She looked down at the napkin in her hand. With a deep breath, she looked back to him. "Just...just so you know, I uh..." She held up his number shyly. "This is the first time I've gotten this. Some of the people I work with apparently aren't too good at passing along messages. Thanks again." With a final smile, she stood and walked away. As much as he had thought he had been honest when saying he would pull away the second she got inside, he couldn't help but stare after her toward the empty doorway. She hadn't called because she hadn't gotten his number. She had agreed to seeing him again. She smiled and laughed. It was almost a full minute, the longest of his life, before he shifted the car back into drive and pulled away


End file.
